Austria and tourism - Курсовая работа

Austria (in German, Osterreich), officially Republic of Austria, republic in central Europe, bordered on the north by the Czech Republic; on the northeast by Slovakia; on the east by Hungary; on the south by Slovenia, Italy, and Switzerland; and on the west by Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Germany. During the past 10 centuries, the term Austria has designated a variety of geographic and political concepts. In its narrowest sense Austria has included only the present-day provinces of Upper and Lower Austria, including Vienna; in its widest meaning the term has covered the far-flung domains of the imperial house of Hapsburg. Visits to Austria mostly include trips to Vienna with its Cathedral, its "Heurigenschenken" (wine pubs) and romantic Waltz music flair.From earliest times Austrian territory has been a thoroughfare, a battleground, and a border area. By c.600, Slavs from the east had occupied all of modern Styria, Lower Austria, and Carinthia. In 788, Charlemagne conquered the area and set up the first Austrian (i.e., Eastern) March in the present Upper and Lower Austria, to halt the inroads of the Avars. After the death (1246) of the last Babenberg, King Ottocar II of Bohemia acquired (1251-69) Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola . Fearing his power, the German princes elected (1273) Rudolf of Hapsburg German king.Emperor Charles VI (1711-40), whose dynastic wars had drained the state, secured the succession to the Hapsburg lands for his daughter, Maria Theresa , by means of the pragmatic sanction . Maria Theresa"s struggle with Frederick II of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession (see Austrian Succession, War of the ) and the Seven Years War opened a long struggle for dominance in the German lands. The provincial estates were reduced in power, and an efficient centralized bureaucracy was created; as the nobles were attracted to bureaucratic service their power as a class was weakened. The major event of Maria Theresa"s later reign was the first partition of Poland (1772; see Poland, partitions of ); in that transaction and in the third partition (1795) Austria renewed its eastward expansion. Music and architecture (see Vienna ) flourished in 18th-century Austria, and modern Austrian literature (see German literature ) emerged early in the 19th cent.This left Austria a small country with some 7 million inhabitants, one third of whom lived in a single large city (Vienna) that had been geared to be the financial and industrial hub of a large state. The Dual Monarchy had been virtually self-sufficient economically; its breakup and the consequent erection of tariff walls deprived Austria of raw materials, food, and markets. These ills were followed by currency inflation, ended only in 1924 by means of League of Nations aid, following upon chronic unemployment, financial scandals and crises, and growing political unrest. National Socialism , feeding in part on anti-Semitism, gained rapidly and soon absorbed the Pan-German party. Engelbert Dollfuss , who became chancellor in 1932, though irreconcilably opposed to Anschluss and to National Socialism, tended increasingly toward corporative fascism and relied heavily on Italian support.The majestic Alps, plentiful forests, 88 lakes and a considerable network of rivers all add to Austria’s natural beauty and vibrant countryside.According to a federal principle of the Austrian constitution, each of the 9 Austrian Federal Provinces is responsible for its own tourism. Although the constitution itself allocates responsibility for tourism to the federal provinces, the Federal Government is held accountable for the general economic policy, public transport, financing instruments and subsidies - all questions which are directly or indirectly related to tourism.Austria"s tourism and leisure industry plays a vital role in the Austrian economy. In 2002, the total foreign currency earnings from tourism amounted to approximately 14,13 million € ( 5.5% compared with 2001). The number of beds and the number of overnight stays are the most important statistical indicators to measure the performance of tourism. In the same year, the number of overnight stays amounted to 116,8 million. Visitors from abroad accounted for about 85,79 million and domestic guests for about 31,01 million (comparison to 2001: 1,5% in total).In an industry of constant change, Austrian tourism must always remain flexible in its reaction to new tourist trends. Less welcome trends such as the strong move from summer season holidays towards winter season holidays, pose real problems for enterprises which depend on only one season for business - mainly the summer season. While winter tourism accounted for only 33.7% of total overnight stays 23 years ago (1979/1980), 2001/2002 showed a shift in favour of winter with 56.3% of total overnight stays. The trend toward higher quality accommodation makes things more difficult and creates problems for a large number of lower

Contents

Introduction 2

1. Austria 3

1.1 The Rise of Austria 3

1.2 The Austrian Empire 5

1.3 Modern Austria 8

2. The tourism industry as a part of the Austrian economy 11

2.1 The Organizational Structure 11

2.2 Economic Significance 12

2.3 Trends in Austrian Tourism 14

2.4 The tourism labour market 16

Conclusion 19

Literature 20